What does the Government want to know? Defra’s perspective – air quality Sarah Honour ACITES Networking Meeting, 10 January 2013

Contents Why air quality is important How evidence informs policy Defra’s air quality evidence programme Opportunities and barriers for government and research community working closer together Air quality research needs Opportunities to engage better Questions and comments Not a definitive list of government research needs! 2

Air Quality remains a significant issue 3 Man-made fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) alone reduces the average life expectancy of people in the UK by 6 months, costing £15 billion annually. This is comparable to the economic cost of obesity Air pollution can cause damage to biodiversity and to sensitive and valuable habitats. Things have improved since the ‘acid rains’ but critical loads to protect against acidification and eutrophication are still exceeded in many areas. Air pollution contributes to climate change

Policy context Coalition Commitment: “We will work towards full compliance with European Air Quality standards” Ministerial Priority for 2015: “Improve human health and wellbeing through action on the local environment, particularly improving air quality” Despite good progress, there are serious compliance challenges on certain pollutants (NO 2 and PM 10 ), leading to significant risk of infraction proceedings Defra needs to work with other departments, particularly DfT and DECC, to ensure further reductions in emissions Also need to work at a range of scales from Local Authorities to the EU and international level 4

Evidence in Defra Defra committed to evidence-based decision-making and requires focused, high- quality evidence to deliver policy outcomes Current fiscal situation means we need to be more innovative in the way we design and commission evidence, making better use of the wider scientific community We also need to become smarter in joining up between policy areas to optimise the benefits of actions Earth systems research can help us. 5

Evidence and policy 6

Defra’s evidence landscape 7

The Air Quality Evidence Programme 8 Air Quality Evidence budget ~£10m Air Quality Grant to support local authorities (£2m in 2012/13) Science & evidence budget (~£10m in 2012/13) plus capital budget Large statutory (57%) and non R&D element Delivered through ~45 contracts Embedded, multi-disciplinary evidence teams Links with other parts of Defra/OGDs and external organisations

Working better with research community Benefits to Defra More efficient use of resources Access to a much wider range of expertise → greater robustness and innovation Examples Improving Defra tools – oxidant partitioning work by Mike Jenkins Optimising emission reduction measures – ozone production potential for VOCs by Dick Derwent The Clearflo research project 9

Benefits of working better with government “Working with politicians and civil servants can be challenging for scientists, but it also offers big rewards – not least the satisfaction of seeing knowledge move beyond the lab and make a difference in the wider world.” Alan Thorpe (former Chief Executive of NERC) Maximise value of research: most environmental science is relevant to policy either in the short-, long-, or very long term Increasing need to show impact of research 10

Barriers to better working with the research community Timescales Differing interests/priorities Lack of control Understanding what government wants Understanding what the research community can provide Can be time consuming 11

Current interactions How Researchers support Defra Expert groups Carrying out and reporting back on Defra-funded work Peer review Inclusion of Defra on project boards Reporting findings from non-Defra supported projects Wider research provides basis for horizon scanning How Defra Supports Researchers Funding research through contracts and grants Availability of Defra data Letters of support Demonstrating project impact through the use of data/scientific findings in Defra publications 12

How Defra articulates its evidence needs Evidence and Investment Strategy Evidence Plans for specific policy areas – sufficient detail? Responses to expert committee reports (AQEG) Research calls Dialogue with research councils and research community Need to get better at this 13

Relevance of earth systems Atmosphere important part of earth system – need to know how what we do impacts on other policy areas and vice versa Key interactions in policy terms –Climate change –Ecosystems/biodiversity –Soils –Water 14

Specific asks for earth systems 1.Highlighting important interactions 2.Reducing uncertainties and improving the underlying science for direct policy support 3.Understanding uncertainties – sources and how to present them 4.Horizon scanning 5.For PM and ozone: what controls current and future concentrations and how do systems respond to changes in emissions 6.How will climate mitigation impact on air quality 7.How will a changing climate impact on air quality e.g. Ozone and vegetation 15

Future opportunities Collaborative projects – funding is limited but there may still be opportunities Joint use of resources/data Better use of Defra data by researchers Better identification of policy messages and communication of these by researchers Looking to produce a document on Defra air quality evidence needs – what do people want Want to hear the thoughts and ideas of the research community 16

Defra – NCAS Liason Post co-funded by Defra and NCAS Aims: –To assess the research programmes in Defra and NCAS on air pollution, analyse their outcomes and promote ways in which these could be brought closer together to achieve common goals; –To promote an understanding of evidence needs for policy within the research community and the research community’s needs within policy development processes; –Defra’s Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) to act as the key interchange between the two. 17

Defra – NCAS Liason Hope to visit NCAS (and other) researchers to find out about what they do and where Defra might be interested/potentially involved – need your support. Interested in what you are doing now, what you would find useful from Defra NCAS is a starting point to get in contact with wider research community. Get in touch 18

Any questions or comments? 19